8: Chapter 8 Lu Ya Daojun

He Yueyou had called her mother while on the road. When they arrived at the entrance of the scenic area, they saw a sports car parked there, with a beautiful woman leaning against it, focused on playing with her phone. Seeing her from afar, He Yueyou rolled down the car window, reached out, and excitedly shouted, "Mom!" while urging Cao Xiao to drive over.

Cao Xiao stopped the car and glanced at the logo—a Porsche, specifically a Porsche Carrera GT. Although this model was no longer in production, its price tag was by no means low, worth nearly 6.5 million. With additional equipment, the total would be no less than seven million. Cao Xiao couldn't afford a car—not even the cheapest electric bike—but that didn't stop his love for automobiles, especially sports cars, which were a man's favorite. He usually followed such information, as no one could stop him from daydreaming, which was why he could recognize the car at a glance.

It seemed He Yueyou really was a rich girl, or rather, a daughter of a wealthy family. But what Cao Xiao couldn't figure out was why He Yueyou would go to work in a small place like that town. Shouldn't a beautiful, rich girl like her be at home all day walking dogs and squandering money?

Once the car came to a stop, He Yueyou opened the door, got out, and excitedly ran over to the beautiful woman, throwing herself into her arms.

"Oh, my little Yueyou has gotten tanned again, and your skin is a bit rough, too. Later, Mom will take you for some proper skincare, otherwise, you won't be able to get married easily in the future." Mother He gently pushed He Yueyou away, took off her sunglasses, examined her carefully, and even touched He Yueyou's delicate face with her hand.

Only then did Cao Xiao get out of the car. When he saw Mother He's face after she removed her sunglasses, he was surprised because she looked too young—only about thirty years old. Her skin was fair, she was very beautiful, and she was dressed fashionably. Standing together with He Yueyou, they looked like sisters, not mother and daughter.

"Hey, our little Yueyou has finally come around. Is this your boyfriend? The young man looks quite spirited. Why didn't you tell Mom? I could have helped you vet him, and I guarantee this boy would never escape your grasp. Why don't you introduce him to Mom quickly?" Mother He only then noticed Cao Xiao getting out of the car. She looked him over with curiosity and said to He Yueyou.

"Mom, stop talking nonsense, will you? This is my friend. I just happened to catch a ride with him today because you wouldn't come to pick me up. Hmph." He Yueyou said to her mother with a pout.

"A male friend is just a boyfriend, isn't it? Don't worry, you just focus on winning him over, and leave your old-fashioned father to me—I'll handle him, and I doubt he'd dare to act out. You need to hurry up; otherwise, your old man keeps bringing back all sorts of random people for me to look at. What am I supposed to look at? They're even whiter than my face! And your dad even claims they're richer than our family. You know the two types of people your mother hates most: one is people richer than our family, and the other, even more detestable, is men who are whiter than me. Your dad just never learns his lesson; every time, I have to give him a good 'bone-loosening' session. Fortunately, I sent him off to Africa recently; otherwise, I'd be disgusted just looking at him. This young man is not bad—wheat-colored skin, quite sunny, looks reliable, and with that face, I'd give him a ninety." Without waiting for He Yueyou to introduce him, Mother He walked over and circled Cao Xiao, looking him up and down, appearing quite satisfied.

Cao Xiao felt black lines appearing all over his face. How could this woman, who might become his future mother-in-law, seem so unreliable? So, I only caught her eye and got a high score because my skin is dark? If you didn't look at skin tone, would I even pass your grading criteria? What kind of logic is that! He had never realized that having a tanned face could have such benefits, yet he felt quite uncomfortable about it.

"Hello, Auntie! I'm Yueyou's friend, Cao Xiao. I just happened to be passing by and gave Yueyou a ride here, so please don't misunderstand." Cao Xiao introduced himself before He Yueyou could speak.

"Hmm, Cao Xiao. Cao Cao—an ambitious hero, and 'Cao Xiao' also sounds like 'mockery'. Your name is very imposing yet quite humorous. Hmm, and you're taller than me. How old are you this year, young man? Where do you work? Our Yueyou is not bad, right? Do you want Auntie to teach you a few tricks? I guarantee I can get her to obey you completely, so she'd never dare to go west if you told her to go east." Just after Cao Xiao finished his introduction, Mother He rattled off a long string of words like a machine gun.

Cao Xiao was bewildered. Wasn't it said that poor losers meeting wealthy mothers-in-law would be made to feel ashamed of themselves? Why was she teaching someone how to woo her own daughter? And when explaining my name, could she at least listen to my explanation first? My father gave me this name hoping I would be wise and courageous when I grew up; 'Xiao' means brave and fierce. How did it get linked to Cao Cao, and even 'mockery'? Perhaps his undergraduate education level was too low, and he didn't even understand his own name.

Hearing the words "taller than me," Cao Xiao shivered in fear. He didn't know if this potential future mother-in-law hated people who were taller than her just as much as she hated people who were whiter than her. Otherwise, he had no way to alter his height. This standard of judging people—hating those who were better than her—was even more terrifying than being materialistic or mercenary, because someone could decide their opinion of you at a single glance, which was more unsolvable than fortune-telling. Modern medical technology was very advanced; plastic surgery was easy. Black people could be turned into white people, and men could be turned into women, but how do you shorten your height? He had never heard of it.

"Hey, why are you shivering? The weather is so nice, are you catching a cold? You're young, so take care of your health and don't pick up bad habits. If there's an issue, you two can discuss and resolve it. I'll help you persuade Yueyou. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Seeing Cao Xiao suddenly shudder, Mother He started spouting more inexplicable words, her mind wandering who knows where.

"Cao Xiao, don't listen to my mom's nonsense. She's a chatterbox. If you have things to do, just go." Seeing Mother He acting up endlessly, He Yueyou spoke up to urge Cao Xiao to leave quickly, fearing that if things dragged on, it would be hard to manage.

Her mother's mouth was invincible—truly invincible. To this day, few people could withstand it. Those who knew her respectfully addressed her as "Lu Ya Daojun." Who was Lu Ya? A great power in the primordial era. Once someone called out a person's real name and unleashed the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber, it would always return with the person's head. The Nail-Head Seven-Arrow Book was even more vicious, ignoring distance and silently taking lives through incantations. Moreover, what was Lu Ya's true form? The tenth prince of the demon race, the Three-Legged Golden Crow. The Three-Legged Golden Crow was also a beautiful crow, just with one extra leg. Connecting this name with Mother He's eloquence, it wasn't hard to imagine how illustrious and well-deserved her reputation was.

"Yueyou, what are you saying? Are you itching for a beating? He drove you from so far away, and you're chasing him off? How did I raise you? You must be warm, kind, and know how to be grateful to others. Little Cao, don't listen to her. Auntie will treat you to a big meal today to celebrate the fact that my poor daughter is finally getting married." Mother He said to He Yueyou with a look of displeasure.

"Auntie, I have things to attend to today and I'm in a rush. How about I treat you to a meal another day? I must be going. Goodbye, Auntie! Goodbye, Yueyou!" Cao Xiao was terrified. He had absolutely no defense against her; if they kept talking, he would truly collapse. If it were someone else, he wouldn't be this scared, but this was the mother of the woman he admired, so he couldn't help but care. However, he was completely unprepared today, leading to his awkward behavior. If he made a fool of himself, it would be over. First impressions were crucial. While he hadn't completely lost his armor and helmet yet, he should make a strategic withdrawal and regroup for another day. So, without finishing his sentence, he quickly retreated from the battlefield.

"Stop!!" Just as Cao Xiao turned around and taken two steps, a loud shout came from behind him. Startled, Cao Xiao's legs went soft, and he almost twisted his ankle and fell. Still shaken, he recognized this was Mother He's voice. He didn't turn around immediately, but tried hard to squeeze a smile onto his face before looking back.

"Auntie, is there anything else?" Cao Xiao said to Mother He with a smile he thought was very gentle.

"Pfft, hahaha!" Seeing him like this, He Yueyou couldn't help but burst out laughing. Unlike before, she didn't step in to help Cao Xiao, but instead sat to the side and watched with great interest.

"Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to a meal? Why are you leaving without leaving a phone number? It's rare that someone wants to treat me to a meal, so Auntie is very happy and takes it very seriously. How about next Saturday you and Yueyou come to the provincial capital? There's a nice private kitchen restaurant there. You treat, and I'll pay. It's settled! Give me your phone number." Mother He said happily.

"My phone number is 15*****8848. Auntie, I'm leaving now. See you next week!" After giving his number and saying goodbye, Cao Xiao turned and left—no, not left, he ran.

"Go on, work hard and make money! I'm still waiting for you to support us in our old age!" Mother He shouted loudly at Cao Xiao's retreating back.

Hearing this, Cao Xiao shuddered, but didn't speak, firmly steadying himself as he walked toward where he parked. Are you kidding? You're worth billions; do you really need my pittance for your old age?

"Yueyou, Mom is telling you, you must hold onto this Little Cao; he has the potential to be trained into an ox. Do you know why you should train a man to be an ox? Mom will tell you: during the day, a man should be like an ox, working hard without complaint to support the family, and at night, he should also be like an ox with infinite, abundant stamina—"

"Mom, what are you saying? There are so many people watching here, stop talking nonsense, please."

Cao Xiao was still two meters away from the car door, seeing that he could finally escape the "Death Island." Unexpectedly, Mother He's voice reached his ears again. That voice seemed to have the magic to ignore distance, sounding as if it were right beside his ear. This finally pushed his mental endurance to the limit. His body went weak, and he stumbled forward. Fortunately, his hand grabbed the door handle in time. Trembling, he stood up, pulled the door open with all his might, quickly dove into the car, ignited the engine, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. The car shot out like an arrow from a bow.

Driving the car, he took deep breaths to steady his emotions. But when he came to his senses, he realized he had taken the wrong turn and was lost. He simply pulled over to the side of the road, turned on the car music, and let it cleanse his cracked soul. More than ten minutes later, he took out his phone for navigation, started the car, and drove toward Jinghu City.

He saw a large supermarket by the side of the road, parked the car, and went in to buy some cooked food and tropical fruits. When paying, Cao Xiao really wanted to go back to the shopping area and return the fruits; they were just too expensive. Just a few catties of mangosteen, two dragon fruits, and one durian cost several hundred yuan. Moreover, half of that money was just for the fruit peels. Looking at those thick peels, Cao Xiao wanted to smash them on the ground right then and there—it was such a rip-off. Several hundred yuan could buy a few free-range chickens. But Second Aunt's family liked these tropical fruits, so he had to grit his teeth and pay.

If he couldn't successfully sell the coal this time, he would be left drinking the northwest wind in a few days. He only hoped Second Uncle would be reliable this time.